I have been argueing with a hunting buddy the last week and now I am curious, Can an arrow deflect and change direction once it has entered the flesh? I took a cull buck last weekend perfectly broadside to me, arrow entered just behind the leg perfect lung hit...get this, the arrow came out the other side going through the liver...he ran about 80 yards and dropped.

Have anyone ever seen this happen...or did I just brain dump and shoot that deer quartering towards me?

Yes it can deflect and strange things can happen.

It can happen. Who knows what the arrow hits once it enters the body. Not much different than when an arrow hits a limb in flight. Granite, most times it flies straight through, but I've seen it occasionally deflect inside the body.

I'm not sure I'd believe a deflect when a deer is pefectly broadside, I do on quartering shots however, a deers reaction time is simply amazing. They can move a ton when the arrow is released. What we see as perfectly broadside when releasing changes in split seconds with the deer tensing at the sound, turning, dropping, moving, muscles flexing etc as the arrow is airborne....I think the shear quick movement of the animal can cause the arrow to do some strange things.

My brother shot a buck a few years ago that was standing broadside and the arrow entered right behind the shoulder and deflected up the neck. The biggest blood trail I have ever seen, and the arrow never went in the chest cavity. The arrow was sticking out, with the nock sticking straight down, when we got up to him and we couldn't believe it. The deer only went 30 yards after the hit.

I took a slightly quartering shot ONCE! And I would like to believe that I learned my lesson...Was hoping for more responces to poll this mystery.

Thank you everybody

I'm more inclined to think the deer moved.

Actually,
A slightly quartering away shot is preferable to a broadside shot in most hunters that have been bowhunting for any significant amount of time. Slightly quartering away gives you more room for error, plus the ability to get some liver, both lungs and the top of the heart with one shot. Miss a little back, you still get liver and lung. A little forward, still both lungs.

Quartering towards you, now that can be a problematic shot, especially at any distance or acute angle at all. When quarteringtowards you itis generally best to waittill you get a broadside or quartering away. Also, quartering towards can end up deflecting an arrow as the ribs tend to be more of an obstacle at this angle. I have heard of mechanicals failing miserably on this shot.

Deer can do some amazing things. My guess is that the deer movedwhile the arrow was on the way and even on impact. I had a doe at 30 yards last week almost turn inside out trying to jump the string. I shoot a Switchback XT and it is very quiet and pretty fast. She still went from broadside to quartering towards me in the amount of time it took the arrow to get to her. Instead of a broadside punch through, it went in, hit a lung and liver and ended up with the broadhead in the opposite back hip bone. Lots of blood and only about an 80 yard track.
R
Hank